End the Exile [for Tara and Down]

Birdstar

It was hard not to notice Ravenclaw’s pacing, a distracting wiggle at the corner of her vision. The senior warrior approached her only moments after she dismissed the cats she’d been talking to, and Birdstar inclined her head at the request. She’d hardly spoken with her aunt except in passing, but Ravenclaw had been… lively, recently. The question wasn’t a surprise.

She was just starting to nod when another cat joined them. Birdstar turned to the scarred tom, blinking slowly at Bloodstrike’s words. “Yes, of course I can talk to you– both of you.” Birdstar tilted her head. She was inclined to listen to Bloodstrike first– he at least said what he wanted to talk about, and she could make a decent guess which “family matter” outside SkyClan he was referring to. For a few moments, she sat and looked between them both, before eventually nodding and getting to her paws.

“Both of you can follow me to my den, if you don’t mind hearing what each other has to say.” Birdstar said as she started to turn away. “If you do, then I’ll talk to Ravenclaw first.” She nodded one more time before padding away to duck inside her den. It was hollow, sparse and clean save for the presence of her own nest. She sat down neatly on the pile of moss and down, wrapping her tail around her paws, dipping her head to show she was listening when one or both of them entered the den.

Birdstar

Ravenclaw’s first words were a surprise. Birdstar tilted her head, glancing between the two once before settling on her aunt again. The next thing… Birdstar breathed in deep and held it in her lungs. Some kittish belief lingered, but she had long ago given up hope that Beechfang would return to SkyClan. Bloodstrike’s return had been encouraging, but nothing came of it. She’d come to accept things were fine like that.

And despite how deeply she loved her mother, Beechfang had lingered in her life more than lived it. Picturing her in camp every morning, going on patrols and attending ceremonies like she was meant to… it was as disconcerting as it was deeply comforting. But imagining her dying alone in twolegplace’s cold, unforgiving sprawl... it was enough to snap the doubt from her.

The breath she held released, and Birdstar shifted to look toward Bloodstrike when he spoke. Her whiskers twitched in consideration. He was right– she made no such promises, and she owed RiverClan’s leader nothing. But the strangest thought protested: wasn’t Perchstar her friend? But Birdstar shook her head dismissively of it. That was true, but Beechfang was her mother. And... RiverClan didn’t need to know about Beechfang.

“You know murder is different, Bloodstrike.” She eventually started. Despite attempting to sound rational, the softness in Birdstar’s voice gave her away. She’d already made up her mind, even if her mind hadn’t caught up yet. “We’ll… I don’t… know.” She laughed once, hollowly, then slowly rose into a brief fit, warm with humor. “You two are terrible, for making me think hard. It… would raise concern with the other Clans, I’m sure. But, we can figure something out. Despite my better judgment, I can’t say no to her.” Birdstar sighed before straightening up, resuming a more neutral appearance.

“I doubt she’ll be hard to find, but before we go looking for her, I’d like to at least tell Wolfblossom– I can’t surprise her with every rogue I bring back to camp. I already know she’ll be kept from the river and Gatherings, just as you are.” She nodded again towards her grandfather. She doubted Beechfang would mind the restrictions. “ThunderClan… does worry me, but it’s not my concern now. We can figure that out after we find her.”